One of the key tools of online marketing is email advertisements. According to many current approaches to electronic commerce (e-commerce), a customer may register with a vendor (such as an online retailer, nonprofit organization, stock trader etc.) to receive emails that provide information about products that are offered for sale by the vendor, make a payment, solicit instructions to redistribute funds or reallocate financial resources. The emails may include links that direct the user to web pages on the vendor's web site. At the web site, the customer may obtain additional information about and/or purchase the products described in the emails. Industry standards have produced fundamental limits on how email could be used.
Within this technological climate, email still remains a perennial technology for messages. Many use email in tandem with other networks and for more official correspondence. The vast majority of services, websites, social networks and online retailers require an email address as a basis for joining and confirming identity. Email advertising is an underutilized tool that is too often thought of as a place to write messages and correspond with others, or as a way to advertise to potential customers. A way to sell products or to perform a financial transaction by email alone has not been developed.
Additionally, email does not reflect the same level of interactivity that is available online. The email format has not kept pace with the advancements found on websites and social media. Email users are limited to clicking links, adding text and including attachments. Email lacks the interactive quality that exists on websites. Emails cannot offer an interactive form that allows for: multiple inputs and calculations to be made within the email, adjustable visual elements, interactive graphics, voice recognition, Google glass, swipes, retinal or fingerprint recognition as an example. For this reason, email is perceived as a more stagnant arena in comparison to other online arenas. The design and the content of email are generally limited by system standards.